SOB SOB—
The quiet weeping by her ear was like the lowest, most mournful note of a flute, lingering endlessly.
Ming Lingyi's throat was parched. When she tried to swallow, it felt as if a sharp blade was slitting her throat, and the pain made her choke out a sound.
Suddenly, the weeping stopped. A large, round face leaned in close, teardrops splashing one after another onto her own.
"Miss! You're finally awake! SOB SOB SOB, you scared me to death!"
The round-faced girl in a maid's uniform burst into loud sobs, her voice surprisingly resonant.
Ming Lingyi: "…"
'My household was never particularly strict,' she thought. 'Whether it was my personal Chief Palace Maids like Yu Yi and Yanxia, or the lesser palace maids of Kunning Palace, I never mistreated any of them. But even so, no one would have dared to cry so carelessly that their tears dripped onto my face.'
Fortunately, the maid, who called herself Xiao Chun, recovered quickly. She poured a cup of warm water from the table. With one hand, she helped Ming Lingyi sit up; with the other, she held the cup steady and brought it to Ming Lingyi's lips.
"Miss, you've had a fever for three days. The doctor said that if you didn't wake up today, then… then we'd have to…"
Xiao Chun's words trailed off, but Ming Lingyi knew what she meant—they would have had to prepare for her funeral.
In the moments since she'd woken up, Ming Lingyi surveyed the room's furnishings. It was clearly the boudoir of an unmarried young woman, but a glance around revealed almost nothing of value. It was practically bare-walled.
'This isn't Kunning Palace, nor the old General Mansion, not even the Ming Residence.'
A stream of memories flooded Ming Lingyi's mind, and she instinctively clutched her head.
The maid named Xiao Chun had stopped crying and turned to say angrily, "If it weren't for that good-for-nothing Second Master, and the Eldest Young Master, how could you have ended up in this state, Miss!"
Before Ming Lingyi could fully process the new memories in her head, a thunderous knocking erupted from outside.
Xiao Chun heard the noise from the front courtyard and shot to her feet, grabbing a four- or five-foot-long wooden stick that must have been leaning by the bed.
'It looks a bit like a rolling pin from the kitchen.'
"Miss, don't be afraid!" Xiao Chun said as she walked toward the door. "It must be the debt collectors from the gambling den again. But this restaurant and the house were left to you by the Master! No one can take them!"
Ming Lingyi coughed. "Come back here."
The thoughts in her mind finally cleared. The owner of this body was the only daughter of a restaurant owner in Shangjing City. The owner's second younger brother had come to the Capital City to rely on his older brother, so he was given a position at the restaurant and made the Store Manager. This second uncle of hers had little ability and doted on his eldest son, who was also her eldest cousin.
When her eldest cousin racked up a mountain of gambling debt, and the truth could no longer be hidden, he conspired with her second uncle to mortgage the restaurant to a gambling den.
Only when the men from the gambling den came knocking did her own father learn the truth. He collapsed from the shock. Before he could even leave the clinic, he ran into troublemaking thugs from the same gambling den. Agitated, he exchanged a few words with them, only to be shoved by a thug. He lost his footing, fell down the steps, and died on the spot.
And the original owner of this body, due to the shock, had developed a high fever that wouldn't break and hadn't woken up for days.
When she finally woke up again, the body's original owner had become Ming Lingyi.
Xiao Chun was quite obedient. Hearing her, she stepped back to the bedside. "What are your orders, Miss?"
Ming Lingyi's head was still groggy, but she knew that this girl, Xiao Chun, was the plump maidservant who had grown up with the original owner of this body. 'Although she's a bit stronger than most,' she thought, 'if those really are men from the gambling den, how can one young girl possibly stand up to those thugs?'
"Don't go out," Ming Lingyi said. The courtyard she was living in now was the one behind the restaurant.
The original owner's father had bought this rear courtyard along with the restaurant in front of it years ago.
The restaurant was located in the busiest area of the East Market. While it wasn't a top-tier establishment, its annual profits were quite substantial.
'The advantages of this are obvious. The more prosperous the area, the more high officials and nobles pass through, and the better the public order will be.'
"Take some loose silver, go find the government patrols, and slip out the back door. Don't go to the front," Ming Lingyi said.
'She was betting that the troublemakers wouldn't dare to loiter at the entrance for too long.'
'Back when I was in the inner palace, although I had little involvement in political affairs, I understood a man like Li Yun all too well.'
'A ruler who came from the military barracks would have exceptionally strict demands for order.'
'The capital's defense and public order have always been of utmost importance. Anyone caught causing trouble in the Capital City would not get off lightly.'
Xiao Chun looked worried. "Then what about you, Miss?"
"I'll be fine. If you hurry, the people from Jingzhao Mansion might even be able to arrest those men outside and lock them up for a few days."
Ming Lingyi remembered a provision in the Dayan Law: "Those who gather to brawl or cause a public disturbance, thereby disrupting social order, although not committing a grave offense, do corrupt public morals and harm the peace of the community. They shall be immediately apprehended and placed in the cangue for seven days as a warning to others."
Xiao Chun hurried out the door.
A short while later, Ming Lingyi heard the commotion from the front courtyard gradually fade, and Xiao Chun came running back inside.
"Miss!" Xiao Chun's voice was full of energy. "You're amazing, Miss! The patrols from Jingzhao Mansion took all of them away! They said they were going to lock every one of them up!"
Ming Lingyi smiled. 'It seems the person currently in charge of Jingzhao Mansion is quite capable,' she thought.
This law was one of those where officials wouldn't investigate unless a complaint was filed.
After all, for those doing business in the East and West Markets, a certain amount of friction was inevitable.
Gambling dens and brothels all had their enforcers, and as long as things didn't get too out of hand, the government wouldn't get too involved.
But if someone reported the crime, the nature of the situation changed entirely.
She had sent Xiao Chun to Jingzhao Mansion to try her luck. Even if the patrols hadn't arrested the men and locked them up for seven days, they would have at least dispersed the crowd at the door.
Ming Lingyi had just begun to relax when another knock suddenly sounded at the door.
"Ming Yao! I know you're in there! Open up, open this door for me right now! The debt collectors have already come to our door, and you, you wretched girl, you actually dare to ignore the family's plight! Hand over the silver notes that my eldest brother gave you! How could my brother have raised such an ungrateful wretch! To think you're still only thinking of yourself at a time like this!"
The voice of a middle-aged man came through the door.
Ming Lingyi's brow furrowed instantly.